Ronaldo's weight worries Brazilian President

Updated: 25 February 2007 10:34 IST

Brazilian president is worried about whether Ronaldo is packing too many pounds for the World Cup.

Reported by Indo-Asian News Service

Read Time: 2 mins

Koenigstein:

Brazilian president is worried about whether Ronaldo is packing too many pounds for the World Cup.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva held a 30-minute long video-conference with a few members of national squad late Thursday night, giving suggestions to players.
He also asked coach Carlos Alberto Parreira whether Ronaldo was overweight.
"So, what is it? Is he fat or not?'' Silva said from his office in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia.
"He is not that boy anymore, his body type has changed," Parreira answered.
Many have said Ronaldo, who was not present, was overweight when he first reported to Brazil's training camp almost three weeks ago.
The striker dismissed such comments, saying he was in good shape and would be in top form for Brazil's World Cup debut against Croatia on Tuesday.
Brazilian doctors also said he was in good condition.
Dismal season
Ronaldo has had a dismal season because of a series of injuries since the beginning of the year.
His latest ailment is a mild respiratory infection, which kept him from practicing with the Brazilian squad on Thursday.
He also suffered from blisters, which forced him to be substituted at halftime in Brazil's warm-up match against New Zealand last Sunday.
Playing in his fourth World Cup, Ronaldo was sidelined for most of April and May because of a muscle injury suffered in the Spanish league.
The Brazilian Soccer Confederation said Ronaldo, who hasn't been talking much to the media recently, was recovering from the respiratory infection and would practice normally on Friday afternoon.
Advice to captain
In the video conference, the Brazilian president gave advice to captain Cafu, asking him "to take care'' of the team's youngsters.
He also said he was hoping Parreira would "give a chance'' to Robinho, a reserve to Ronaldo and Adriano.
Silva said the national team was living a "magical moment,'' and that the expectations for a sixth title were "very high.''
Silva wished luck to everyone, and said Brazil will stop again to watch them play.
After playing Croatia in Berlin, the defending champion will face Australia on June 18 in Munich and Japan on June 22 in Dortmund.
The team has been training in the small town of Koenigstein, outside Frankfurt. Brazil's only public training session was held in nearby Offenbach on Thursday, and more than 22,000 fans showed up to watch the soccer stars. (AP)